Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Design a Pleated Canopy for Olympia London's Rooftop Terrace
London's architectural landscape continues to evolve with bold, design-forward interventions, and the latest project from Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC is no exception. The two celebrated practices have collaborated to create a striking pleated canopy that shelters the rooftop terrace at Olympia London — one of the city's most historically significant and recently transformed cultural and events destinations. The result is a structure that seamlessly bridges heritage and contemporary design, offering visitors a sheltered outdoor experience unlike anything else in the capital.
A Grand Transformation at Olympia London
Olympia London, the iconic exhibition and events venue in West Kensington, has undergone a sweeping £1 billion-plus regeneration in recent years. The transformation has repositioned this Victorian-era landmark as a world-class destination for entertainment, culture, hospitality, and live events. As part of this ambitious redevelopment, the addition of a thoughtfully designed rooftop terrace was always central to the vision — a space that would provide visitors with panoramic views over the city while enjoying a sheltered, comfortable outdoor environment.
Heatherwick Studio, the London-based practice founded by the renowned designer Thomas Heatherwick, joined forces with SPPARC, a British architecture firm with deep expertise in heritage-sensitive transformation projects, to develop the canopy structure. Together, the two studios have produced a design that honours the grandeur of Olympia's Victorian bones while introducing a contemporary gesture that is unmistakably modern and sculptural.
The Pleated Canopy: Form Meets Function
At the heart of the project is the pleated canopy itself — a sinuous, rhythmically folded structure that stretches across the rooftop terrace to provide weather protection without sacrificing natural light or a sense of openness. The pleating technique, a hallmark of Heatherwick Studio's signature approach to material experimentation and structural expressiveness, creates a dynamic visual quality that changes depending on where a visitor stands and how the light falls throughout the day.
The folded geometry of the canopy is not merely aesthetic. The pleats are structurally efficient, distributing loads across the surface in a way that minimises the need for heavy supporting columns and allows the terrace floor to remain largely open and unobstructed. This engineering intelligence, wrapped in a beautiful textile-like form, is characteristic of Heatherwick Studio's broader design philosophy — the belief that buildings and structures should feel alive, tactile, and emotionally resonant rather than simply functional.
The canopy's material palette and detailing have been carefully considered to sit in dialogue with the existing architecture of the Olympia complex. Rather than imposing a jarring contrast, the structure feels like a natural extension of the venue's layered architectural history, adding a new chapter without erasing what came before.
SPPARC's Role in the Heritage Context
SPPARC's contribution to the project is equally significant. Known for their sensitive and intelligent approach to working within protected and historically important buildings, SPPARC has guided the integration of the new canopy into the Grade II listed fabric of Olympia with considerable care. The practice ensured that the new structure meets the stringent requirements associated with heritage buildings in London, working closely with planning authorities and conservation specialists to achieve approval for what is, by any measure, a bold and prominent addition to the roofline.
This kind of collaborative dynamic — where an architecturally expressive studio like Heatherwick is paired with a heritage-focused practice like SPPARC — is increasingly common on large-scale regeneration projects in the UK, and the results at Olympia demonstrate just how productive such partnerships can be. The balance between innovation and sensitivity is palpable in every detail of the finished terrace.
The Rooftop Terrace as a Destination in Itself
Beyond the canopy structure, the rooftop terrace has been designed to function as a genuine destination within the wider Olympia venue. With the pleated shelter overhead, the space can be activated year-round, hosting events, dining experiences, and casual gatherings regardless of the typically unpredictable London weather. The terrace offers sweeping views across West London, providing a dramatic backdrop for the social and cultural programming that the new Olympia aims to attract.
The experience of moving through the space is carefully choreographed. Visitors emerge from the building's interior to find themselves beneath the soft, rhythmic folds of the canopy, with daylight filtering through and the city skyline stretching out beyond the terrace edge. It is a moment of architectural theatre — purposefully designed to be memorable, to offer a pause from the busy programming below, and to celebrate the simple pleasure of being outdoors in the city.
Why This Project Matters for London's Architectural Future
The Olympia canopy project is significant for several reasons beyond its immediate visual impact. It represents a growing confidence among clients, planners, and architects in London that genuinely ambitious, sculptural design can coexist with heritage conservation. It also underscores the importance of rooftop spaces as viable and valuable additions to the urban landscape — particularly in a dense city where ground-level public space is at a premium.
- The project demonstrates how pleated and folded structural forms can achieve both aesthetic richness and engineering efficiency.
- It showcases the benefits of pairing expressive design studios with heritage-specialist practices on complex regeneration projects.
- It positions Olympia London as a venue that takes architectural quality seriously, investing in spaces that will be enjoyed for decades to come.
- It adds another landmark to Heatherwick Studio's growing portfolio of projects that challenge the boundaries between architecture, engineering, and sculpture.
Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC: A Powerful Design Partnership
The collaboration between Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC on the Olympia rooftop canopy is a reminder of what is possible when talented practices pool their expertise. Thomas Heatherwick's studio has long been celebrated for producing work that provokes an emotional response — structures that invite touch, that reward close inspection, and that seem to belong to a category of their own. SPPARC brings the technical rigour, heritage sensitivity, and planning expertise needed to realise such visions within the real-world constraints of a listed building in central London.
As Olympia London continues to welcome visitors through its transformed doors, the rooftop terrace and its pleated canopy will no doubt become one of the venue's most photographed and celebrated features. It is the kind of architectural gesture that makes a city richer — not just visually, but experientially — and it sets a high bar for the wave of regeneration projects currently reshaping London's built environment.